Doncaster Voices: The growing pressure to keep up appearances

Rebecca Calladine, co-owner of Saks Doncaster 

Rebecca has seen first hand the pressure people put on themselves to look a certain way.

She added “Celebrity pressure is a big thing as people see hair results on celebrities and expect to be able to achieve the exact same results at salon prices. ”Pinterest and Instagram also cause issues as we have people showing us pictures of colours that don’t exist as they have filters on. We are always very honest with clients and that’s part of why we take pictures of the looks we create on every single client as a reference point, we don’t use hair magazines as these are shot in different lighting and we don’t rely on shade charts, we use the pictures of colours we have created and do strand tests to give a true reflection. I don’t think it’s just young people that worry about appearance, it affects everyone.”

Lisa Hensby, Owner of Baby Dinosaurs children’s markets 

 “I think young people are under pressure because there are so many YouTube videos and stars in full make-up giving beauty techniques on things like contouring and how to look your best, realistically 12-year-old girls should be worrying about playing in the park and having a good time instead of watching tutorials on how to make yourself look slimmer and more beautiful. Instagram is tricky now too with filters that change people’s appearance so all of that combined makes young people feel pressure to look a certain way. As a mum it is a worry but I will ensure the girls have good self esteem and are confident in their own skin.”

Rebecca Crawforth, Salon owner and beauty entrepreneur

Rebecca believes social media plays a huge part in the pressure to look a certain way.

“Social media is a huge culprit in this issue as it’s so easy to swap and change features with the touch of a button nowadays. It isn’t just females it also equally effects men who are constantly bombarded with unrealistic images too “are my muscles/legs bigger than his?” etc. ”There is a culture of young people who feel pressured into having the perfect lifestyle on social media and often they feel inadequate if it’s not achieved. The world needs more focus on successful careers and hard work rather than living for the perfect ‘insta-worthy moment’. It isn’t sustainable for kids to think this perfect world they see on social is achievable. I always tell my son social media is 99% perception and 1% reality.”

Helen Dillon-Pearson, Director of Flourish Marketing and PR 

Helen believes social media does have a part to play when it comes to the pressure to look a certain way.

Speaking about the issue of young people being under more pressure over their appearance Helen added: “I would certainly say this was the case.  “Our young people are not just being bombarded with images from TV, newspapers or magazines now, social channels are constantly reminding them of their appearance.  “Yet, on a positive note, whilst our young are more aware of their appearance I think that conformity is not as prevalent so, whatever choice they make with regards their look variety is becoming more acceptable.”